Afterlife
by Lilac Wolf
Summary: Contains spoilers from season 3 finale. Read summary inside.


**Hello guys! Sorry for my inactivity on, well, everything. :-( I'm trying to do everything at once. Anyway, I was walking to the bathroom a couple of minutes ago, and I was suddenly struck with a great idea for a Walking Dead story! It's going to be short and sweet, maybe a little sad.**

_**Summary: Andrea is dead. Milton is dead. The survivors are thriving in the prison, now with Woodbury people among them. But let's not focus on the material world - let's focus in the afterlife. A short, sweet one shot about Andrea and Milton after they've passed.**_

**And so, without further adieu, here is Afterlife!**

* * *

Andrea awoke in a strange place. Where was she? Her memories were a blur of the Governor and the raging war between Woodbury and the prison group. Rubbing her head, she stood up.

"What is this place?" She uttered in amazement, looking around. She stood in a field with long grass billowing in the breeze. The sun was setting, and the scene was absolutely beautiful. She felt a slight sting in her jugular, and then a warmth radiate through her. She blinked, looking down at the shoulder, and suddenly she remembered.

The dark room.

Milton, slowly dying on the floor.

The fear coursing through her veins.

The adrenaline rush as she tried to escape...

And the bite. Oh, the bite... She could've avoided it, if she hadn't been so sentimental. She had hesitated for a moment - just a moment - and that was her downfall. But, she tried to tried to reason with herself, anyone would've done the same. Anyone would've hesitated to kill someone who they were close to.

A woman's silhouette appeared in her mind, and she shook her head; not everyone. Not Michonne. And that's why she was still alive and Andrea was not. She smiled sadly as she remembered the woman's tears as she had lain, fever-stricken and her life slowly fading. She clung to the thought that if she had not shot herself, and instead Michonne was tasked to kill her, she would've hesitated a bit.

But Andrea would not have allowed that. She would not allow her best friend to go through the suffering, or the guilt of killing her. She knew that it would eat the woman from the inside out - she knew all too well.

As she dwelled in the memories of her final moments, she failed to notice a young man appear in the field a couple of yards away from her. Like she had, he sat up slowly, rubbing his head. Looking around, he spotted her.

"Andrea!" He called loudly, his voice strained. She snapped to attention, looking over. As she took in who it was, her eyes widened.

"Milton," She breathed. He stood up and ran over to her, and she wrapped her arms around him. His breath caught in his throat and his eyes welled with unseen tears as he remembered what he had done to her.

"No, Andrea... I'm so sorry -" He began, but she smiled and cut him off.

"It's alright, Milton. It's okay." He collapsed to his knees. "It's okay," She repeated, kneeling next to him and placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "The Governor is a cruel man, Milton. He would've tracked me down and killed me if I'd escaped anyway."

He looked up at her. "I turned into one of those..." He wrinkled his nose in disgust, "...things." She laughed lightly and stood up, holding out her hand. With a gentle smile he took it and stood up.

"So, where are we?" She asked, looking over to him.

"I'd imagine, since we both passed on, we're in some kind of afterlife," He reasoned. She gave him a questioning look.

"I didn't think there was an afterlife," She said briefly. He shrugged.

"I didn't either, but I suppose we have to go somewhere once we die." She nodded absent-mindedly, looking around. Suddenly she thought of Amy. Surely, if they were really in the afterlife, Amy would be here too! And Dale, and Shane, and everyone from the group...

She began running. Milton, startled by the sudden action, called out to her. When she didn't respond, and instead continued steadily running, he clumsily went after her. "Andrea!" He called out again. In the distance, he saw a shadowed figure and he guessed that was what she was running toward. As he neared it, he noticed it was a circle. When he finally got there, panting, she was staring into the hole. "Andrea?" He questioned.

Her face was hard, as though she was concentrated on something important. She slowly reached out a hand and touched the black circle, and it rippled. Taking a weary step back Milton watched as it began to glow a bright white. A light gasp was heard from the blonde, and Milton looked at her. Tears stung the corners of her eyes as she looked into the portal. "Amy..." She whispered. Suddenly she took a large leap forward, into the portal.

"A-Andrea...!" He called, immediately going in after her.

* * *

It was dark. Andrea was floating in total and complete blackness. No, wait - she was not floating. She was standing on the ground. Feeling a strange calmness, she walked forward confidently. Milton ran to her side, struggling to keep up with her fast pace. "Andrea, where are you going?" He asked. Suddenly, she stopped.

"Milton?"

"Yes?"

"Do you see that light up there?" She pointed directly in front of them. In the distance, a faint orange glow could be seen; the color of flames.

"Yeah. Why?" Before he could even finish, she was sprinting forward. With a deep sigh, he began running after her. "I'm getting just a bit tired of this...!" He shouted in between breaths.

Andrea ran as quickly as she possibly could; she could almost guarantee that with that light she would find what she was seeking. As she drew nearer, the blackness began to dissipate, revealing trees basked in the glow of the light ahead of her - indeed, it was a flame. Suddenly she stopped. A campfire.

Around it sat everybody - Amy, Dale, Shane, Jim, Jacqui, T-Dog, Sophia, Ed, Lori, and even Merle (Who had both of his hands!). They were all looking at her, smiling warmly. To the left sat Dale's RV, door open and inviting.

"Nice to see you again," Jacqui said politely, gesturing to a seat in between Amy and Dale. A teardrop hit the ground before she even realized she was crying.

"Everybody..." She choked out, before sitting down. "I missed you guys so much..." She leaned over and gave Amy a hug.

"It's a shame you went out like that, girlie," said Ed, who was seated next to Sophia. She sighed and nodded, before suddenly remembering Milton. Jumping up, she walked over to the man and grabbed his arm. Meanwhile, he felt like an intruder, as he knew hardly anyone here.

"Everybody, this is Milton. He's a close friend of mine," She said with a smile. Merle clicked his tongue.

"Damn, boy, I didn't think the Governor would take out his own henchman," Milton nodded.

"I, um, sort of rebelled against him," He admitted. The redneck's eyebrows shot up as he stood and walked over, holding up his hand. Milton looked at it for a moment, before hesitantly giving him the high-five he was seeking.

"Didn't think you had it in ya," He said with a lopsided grin. Milton simply nodded, again.

Andrea led him toward the group, before sitting down next to her sister and pulling him down next to her. "Okay, Milton, this here is Dale," She gestured to the man, "He was bitten while we were staying at the farmhouse." Dale tipped his hat with a gentle smile.

"And this is Ed and Sophia," Sophia gave him a bright smile, and he returned it. Ed simply grunted. "And then Shane and Lori," Shane shook his hand, and Lori smiled. "Then we have Jim, Jacqui and T-Dog," The two men nodded at him, and Jacqui shook his hand. "You obviously know Merle," That grin still in place, he held up his two hands as if to say 'Look what I got!' "And finally, this here," Amy stood up next to her, and Andrea wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Is my baby sister, Amy."

Milton gasped, but wasn't that surprised; the two shared many similar qualities and physical traits. Amy gave a smile as she hugged her sister, the mermaid necklace glinting in the light of the fire. "Okay! Now you know everyone," She stated. "And I'm starved! Is that even possible?"

Everybody laughed, and Andrea felt - for the first time in a long time - right at home.


End file.
